1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to novelty sports equipment, such as toy bats, toy golf clubs, and toy balls that have impact surfaces. More particularly, the present invention relates to the structure of such equipment and any feature that enables the hardness of the impact surface to be selectively adjusted.
2. Prior Art Description
Many sports require specialized equipment. For instance, the sport of golf requires the use of golf clubs. Baseball requires the use of baseball bats. In the toy industry, most every piece of sports equipment has been produced in a toy version for children who are too young to play the real sport. As such, there exist toy golf clubs, toy baseball bats and the like. The toy version of sports equipment is typically much smaller, lighter and softer than the true piece of sports equipment so as not to present a danger to the children who play with these items.
Although a toy golf club or a toy bat is smaller and lighter that its real counterpart, many such toys are still capable of striking a ball with significant force. Consequently, the size, weight, and materials used to create toy bats, clubs and balls are always a matter of compromise. If a bat, club and/or ball is made too well, the ball can be struck with enough force to cause injury or damage. Likewise, if a ball is able to travel too far when struck, the ball will not stay within the confines of a room or backyard during play. Conversely, if a toy bat, club or ball is made too light, small, or soft, the ball will only travel a short distance regardless of how hard the ball is struck. This adversely affects the play value of the toy.
It is well known in the field of sports equipment that an impact surface made of strings can be made more resilient than solid impact surface. This is why tennis rackets, handball rackets and the like have impact surfaces made of strings. Stings stretch when impacted and convert the energy of impact into spring energy. The spring energy is reapplied to the impacted ball, thereby providing more energy to the rebounding ball at it leaves the racket.
The present invention is a toy system that provides a string impact surface. However, the tension in the strings of the impact surface can be selectively adjusted to the needs of the children playing with the toy system. In this manner, a bat, club, or ball can be adjusted to have the resiliency characteristics appropriate for a specific circumstance. The details of the present invention toy system are described and claimed below.